And to water treatment plants like Milwaukee's, its an unseen problem.

"To put in a screen to filter out something that small would be complicated," said Bill Graffin with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. "You're resisting how much water can get through (the plant)."

New Jersey and Illinois have already banned microbeads, as studies show the plastic takes 1,000 years to break down.

Some major manufacturers are already stripping microbeads from their personal care products.

If the measure passes both sides of the Wisconsin legislature, changes could be implemented as early as 2018.